JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas — Maj. Kenyatta Ruffin, an instructor pilot with the 469th Flying Training Squadron at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, will be recognized during the Shine a Light segment of the 2016 BET Awards to air live, June 26 at 8 p.m. PST/7 CST. Through Shine a Light, BET recognizes individuals…

The 355th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron generates all combat and training sorties in the 355th Fighter Wing and manages the efforts of 500 Airmen in 10 specialties maintaining A-10C attack aircraft. The squadron provides safe and properly configured aircraft in order to meet mission requirements for three squadrons. The 355th AMXS also develops and executes scheduled…

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) — The summer months equate to a seemingly insatiable appetite to get outside and have some fun. Good weather, warm temperatures and the extra daylight hours instinctively drive people to a wide variety of outdoor activities, which simply put, are a lot of fun. Summertime can be an enjoyable time…

MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. (AFNS) — Families often carry a profession through their generations. For Staff Sgt. Austin Phillips and his grandfather, they’ve helped maintain the aerial refueling mission. Phillips, the 22nd Maintenance Squadron wheel and tire section chief, is assigned to the KC-135 Stratotanker, the same aircraft his grandfather once worked on nearly 60…

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) — Sixteen mobility Airmen attending the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, participated in a joint forcible entry exercise at the Nevada Test and Training Range June 18. The exercise, known as JFE Vul, is a large-scale air mobility exercise designed to expose students to…

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — The strength of a working relationship can grow exponentially when, at the office, a co-worker jumps all around his cage recklessly wagging his tail, ready to cover faces with big, fat, slobbery kisses. That is the reality for a military working dog handler in the 21st Security Forces Squadron. Senior…

BETHESDA, Md. (AFNS) — After a sprint around an indoor track with her prosthetic running blade, Heather Carter stopped, visibly tired. She smiled and began to sprint another lap. The medically retired senior airman once rounded the bases for the Air Force softball team until a freak accident severely injured her left leg as she raced…

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AFNS) — Jeff Hogg knows the role of the military spouse better than most because he understands the needs of the military lifestyle and the military family. He served in the Air Force for over 20 years before retiring and is the spouse of Maj. Gen. Dorothy Hogg, the Air Force deputy surgeon…

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. — The F-35A is on track to be declared initially operationally capable between August and December 2016. IOC is the first step Air Combat Command will take in bringing the F-35 online as the latest fifth generation multirole fighter. In IOC configuration, the aircraft will be able to penetrate areas with…

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska — The phrase, “So Others May Live to Return with Honor” expresses the overarching goal of those serving in the rescue community and it connects a myriad of career fields dedicated to fulfilling that mission. RED FLAG-Alaska 16-2 provided an opportunity to connect survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialists, rescue squadron…

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Published the first Friday of each month, Desert Lightning News is distributed to military and contractor personnel on Davis-Monthan AFB, including all on-base offices and high traffic locations throughout Tucson

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